The present invention relates to the field of network communications, particularly communications using TCP/IP protocols and the like. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an intelligent router capable of buffering datagrams.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art communications circuit between two computers 110 and 120 through a computer network 130. Computer network 130 may include routers 140 and 150. Routers 140 and 150 may communicate with each other using one or more standardized protocols.
In prior art TCP/IP networks, first router 130 may not indicate to second router 140 that a certain amount of data storage space is available to store individual frames of data. Even if the router receiving information from a computer to be transmitted on the network has additional buffering space, the router may, in the prior art, receive only as much data at a time as space is available in the destination computer. Such a limitation on buffer size may unduly limit transmission speed over the network and increase latency.
Communications networks deliver data from a source node, typically a computer, to any number of destination nodes. Local Area Networks (LAN) are typically used for communications between nodes relatively close in proximity. LANs implement 48 bit addressing to identify the destination node.
However, due to bandwidth and transmission distance limitations, LANs are not used for coast-to-coast or even State-to-State communications. Wide Area Networks (WAN) are used for networking between computers or LANs located at a significant distance from each other. A LAN, due to close proximity of nodes, is much faster than a WAN with distant nodes.
WANs, such as the internet, use an addressing scheme known as an Internet Protocol (IP). Each node is assigned a unique IP address. Datagrams, also known as frames or packets of data, are sent with an IP header containing the IP address of the source node and, the IP address of the destination node.
A router receives the datagram, checks the IP destination node address and sends the datagram onto another router in an effort to reach the destination node.
Other protocols provide a second layer which rests on top of the IP. One such protocol is the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Typically a UDP and data are packaged with an IP header which in turn is packaged with an ethernet header. UDP has a number of disadvantages. For example, UDP provides only one-way communication, no connection with the destination node, no verification of datagram receipt, and no error checking.
Another protocol layered on top of IP is the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which is the protocol of choice on the Internet. The TCP protocol, residing over the IP protocol (TCP/IP), provides a technique whereby data may be transferred from one node to another while insuring proper delivery of each datagram.
Using TCP/IP, each router may communicate with a counterpart router to indicate that data is to be sent from one router to another. Once a datagram has been transmitted, the source node awaits an acknowledgment from the destination node indicating the datagram has been received. If the datagram is not acknowledged as received within a certain time period (e.g., a timeout condition) the datagram may be resent.
TCP/IP has a number of advantages. For example, a two way connection may be established, the connection is continuous, datagram transmission is error-free, and the order of received datagrams is guaranteed to be correct. Data written to a TCP connection at the source node may be received at the destination node in the correct order and error free due to a sliding window effect of the buffer.
Sliding windows work as follows. In FIG. 1, source node 110 has data 160 waiting to be sent to final destination node 120. Source node 110 transmits datagrams (partial data 160) to a final destination node 120 having buffer 170. Datagrams are routed from source node 110 through LAN 190 to first router 140 over WAN 180 to second router 150 and through LAN 200 onto final destination node 120.
An acknowledgment is then transmitted back from final destination node 120 to source node 110, along acknowledgment path 130, after the datagrams has been received. An acknowledgment also reports the number of bytes destination node 120 has free in buffer 170.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, eventually final destination node 120 buffer 170 is full and acknowledgment, advertising a full buffer 170, is sent back to source node 110. Source node 110 ceases to transmit data 160 when buffer 170 is full.
FIG. 3 illustrates final destination node 120 eventually consuming data residing in buffer 170. Buffer 170 slides open, as would a window, and final destination node 120 advertises to source node 110 that buffer 170 has available space. Source node 110 resumes data 160 transmission. Buffer 170 size is a limitation that may unduly limit transmission speed over the network.
While TCP/IP insures that data may be transmitted in a timely fashion and error free, there are some disadvantages, particularly in high latency connections such as the internet. Since the TCP protocol is timeout based, a number of datagrams may be erroneously re-transmitted between nodes if a timeout conditions occurs due to latency of the network. If datagrams are erroneously resent, the latency of the network may be increased by the wasted bandwidth.
Errors in datagrams are corrected by requesting the entire datagram be retransmitted. Retransmitting entire datagrams results in redundant information being transmitted and causing additional latency. In addition, in a prior art TCP/IP protocol network, a router may await receipt of indication that a datagram is received before transmitting a next datagram. In a high latency network, such a technique may unduly slow down communications between nodes.
Also, on a network such as the internet data 160 is being requested sporadically and in bursts when users occasionally request another webpage. When buffer 170 is full data 160 is not sent until buffer 170 slides open. Final destination node 120 then notifies source node 110 that additional data 160 can now be sent. Data 160 may be traveling literally around the world, as shown in FIG. 4. Notification of available space from destination node 120 to source node 110 through WAN (internet) 180 takes a significant amount of time and user 2 sees an unacceptable delay in the loading of webpages.
Until the present invention, these needs and problems had not been met or solved.
The present invention is an intelligent router and method for improving the routing of datagrams, resulting in increased effective bandwidth over networks of high latency. Intelligent routers may be used alone or in combination with additional intelligent routers.
Re-transmission signals received due to a timeout condition may be ignored until a later time, to allow for delays in receiving datagrams due to high latency networks. Time delay between receiving a re-transmit request and honoring the request can be determined by computer network delays.
If a signal is later received by the intelligent router from the destination router indicating receipt of the datagram, the re-transmit request is ignored. If no such receipt signal is received, then the re-transmit request may be honored.
Datagrams may continue to be routed by the intelligent router without waiting for confirmation of receipt of a previous datagram. If a previous datagram is not received, such datagram may be re-transmitted in part or in whole.
In addition, the intelligent router may provide additional buffering for data to be transmitted over the network. Rather then receive only enough data to fill the buffer of the destination node, the intelligent router may buffer additional data within the router.
An intelligent router buffering data, as opposed to the destination node buffering data, is transparent to the source node sending data over the network.
In addition, when using two intelligent routers communicating with each other, only the erroneous portions of individual datagrams need to be resent. Routing between two intelligent routers eliminate or reduces transmission of redundant data.